Find a bomb, defuse it. Find a bomb, defuse it. The job is simple enough, but the room for error is zero. Fail to defuse it, and die. This is the daily work of the United States Army's Bravo Company. They patrol Baghdad during one of the Iraq war's most hellish times, trying each day not to get blown up.
James (Jeremy Renner) joins a tightly knit bomb-disposal unit where Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) is already the intelligence expert. James, by contrast, is a real cowboy. Even in the hulking shell of his bomb suit, his swagger is obvious. He has successfully disabled 873 devices, approaching the job with the no-nonsense grit of a Bigelow hero—and the recklessness too.
But as the unit faces tougher challenges with each new bomb, the men start to fight James's bullish methods. They have only thirty-eight days left in their rotation. They want to live to see day thirty-nine.
the greatest film of the 2000s
Taut, testosterone-filled portrayal of a US bomb-diffusion squad in Iraq with many surprises...such as my audience's gasps when things and people were blown up. Didn't you see that coming? Bitter truths and human suffering -> just what I'd expect from a story depicting war. Unrelenting realism that perfectly suits the subject matter. Right up there with Black Hawk Down for leaving your palate full of dry, desert dust long after the credits stop rolling.
For those annoyed by the "protocol," : This isn't a documentary!!!! You wanna know protocol, pick up a textbook, don't seek it in theatres. The true value of this picture was its understated portrayal of the stresses and reactions of people in such an unbelievable line of work. The very fact that James was/is a "cowboy" shows the psychological effects - it's not and was never intended to be a critique of the US Army or its operations. It's about people, people, and if you don't get that, then choose action flicks that don't delve into human nature or care about the emotions of individuals / group dynamics - which is what being part of a community and larger scale, country, is all about.